School Boards’ New Role Envisioned in Report

The role of the nation’s school boards must change from managing largely standardized systems of schools to assembling “a diverse portfolio of educational options” tailored to the needs of different types of students, argues a report by a leading researcher on school choice.

Paul T. Hill, the director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington in Seattle, lays out the case for a portfolio-based approach to public education “that strongly rewards improved instructional performance and successful adaptation to children’s learning needs.”

Under such a system, boards of education would oversee “schools operated by the district as well as schools maintained by community, nonprofit, and for-profit groups, operating under charters or contracts,” and potentially private schools, says the report.